Dan Telvock

Dan Telvock is Investigate Post's environmental reporter. A native of the Finger Lakes region, he was an award-winning newspaper reporter in Virginia for 13 years, including stints at The Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg and The Winchester Star, before joining Investigative Post. He founded and operated The Landry Hat, a blog that covered the Dallas Cowboys, from 2005 to 2008, while also working as a reporter.

Apr 14

2014

‘Big victory’ for Buffalo water quality

The Buffalo Sewer Authority will spend $380 million on upgrades to its century-old sewer system over the next 20 years that will drastically reduce the amount of raw sewage and untreated stormwater flowing into the Niagara River and its tributaries. The authority agreed to the improvements under pressure from the Environmental Protection Agency, which determined in 2004 that the city was violating the Clean Water Act. “This is a big victory,” said Judith Enck, EPA’s administrator for Region 2 that includes New York. “We think this formal agreement will make a big difference in terms of improving water quality in[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Apr 7

2014

Scajaquada Creek revisited

I was compelled to return to the scene to prove a point: the portion of Scajaquada Creek that runs through Delaware Park is disgusting. One person criticized the post “Scajaquada Creek: a Buffalo toilet” because the photograph I used is from last summer. I felt comfortable using the photograph because I know it is a common sight. I run three times a week and Hoyt Lake is a part of the path I take for my 10ks. I’ve become too familiar with the problems of this section of Delaware Park. I’ve also become accustomed to smelling sewer wafting from underneath[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Apr 4

2014

Quasar’s bio-energy plans draws concern

Wheatfield residents are concerned about Quasar’s proposal for a 5-million-gallon sludge storage tank at its Liberty Drive plant. The sludge is used as farm fertilizer and to produce methane for electricity. The tank would be close to a creek that connects to the Niagara River. A report from WGRZ.

Posted 11 years ago

Apr 4

2014

Who are Battaglia’s advocates in Buffalo?

Not everyone is against Peter Battaglia’s effort to expand his construction and demolition processing business in the Seneca Babcock neighborhood southeast of downtown. His advocates, however, all have skin in the game—from his children to companies that dump at his facility. I wasn’t kidding when I said I pored through hundreds of state and city documents for Thursday’s story about a decade-long battle between Battaglia and residents who live near his business. Now is a good time to share some of the specific documents. So stay tuned because I will post more documents and videos throughout the coming week. For example,[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Apr 3

2014

Buffalo’s decade-long dust bowl

The Weaver family and their neighbors on Peabody Street may be the only people in Buffalo who don’t look forward to warm weather. That’s when concrete crushing kicks into full gear at Battaglia Demolition, a construction and demolition processing facility that abuts their homes in the gritty Seneca Babcock neighborhood about a mile southeast of downtown. “I can’t open my windows because of all the dust from the rock crushing,” Jan Weaver wrote to the state Department of Environmental Conservation last fall. Between 80 to 200 diesel trucks a day rumble down Peabody Street loaded with concrete, scrap metal and[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Mar 28

2014

Buffalo’s harsh winter kills thousands of fowl

Many of us complained about this winter’s freezing cold. But we survived. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for a lot of birds. Thousands of ducks along the shores of Lake Erie and Niagara River died from starvation due to the brutal winter this year, the state Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed today. The widespread ice cover prevented the fowl from eating food in the water. State wildlife experts called the number of deaths “unprecedented.” DEC tests did not reveal any infectious diseases in the waterfowl, the agency said. Eastern Lake Erie and the Niagara River are habitats for 150,000 to[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Mar 27

2014

Mapping spread of Great Lakes invasive species

Ever wonder how fast invasive species can spread throughout the Great Lakes? Look no further. The Nature Conservancy developed a series of time lapse maps that show the shocking, rapid spread of the different types of invasive species. Zebra and quagga mussels, round goby and sea lamprey are the chief invaders in Western New York. “A 2012 report by Anderson Economic Group commissioned by The Nature Conservancy revealed that it costs hundreds of millions of dollars to control aquatic invasive species,” The Nature Conservancy states on its website. “Industries like sport and commercial fishing, water treatment, power generation and tourism are all affected by[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Mar 21

2014

Scajaquada Creek: a Buffalo toilet

Scajaquada Creek meanders through Buffalo’s most-prized park and yet it reeks of sewage and chemicals. This creek is literally a toilet, especially after heavy rainfall. Don’t believe me? Have a look for yourself: I snapped this photograph last summer while riding my bike through Delaware Park near Hoyt Lake. I smelled something putrid and this was the source. The chemical trails made rainbows in the water. Fish, some several feet long, ate the decay and whatever else was in this mess. I came back 30 minutes later and a group of immigrants had dropped their fishing lines near here. Raw sewage overflows[...]

Posted 11 years ago